How to Deseed a Pomegranate and a Salad of Apples, Pomegranate, Gorgonzola and Pine Nuts

January 16, 2012
[Elaine] in salad, vegetarian

Pomegranates have become so popular - they're delicious and healthy. But they can be a pain to deseed, squirting juice everywhere and making a mess. I'll show you how to easily clean a pomegranate and get all those seeds out.

I'm going to be posting a lot of pasta dishes this winter, so I thought I would give you a nice refreshing, light salad first! The key to making a great salad is two things: 1) make your own dressing and 2) only lightly dress the greens. Salad dressing shouldn't weigh down a salad - it should just lightly coat it. The greens and the fruit or vegetables should be the star. The salad should be refreshing, not a soggy mess.

Experiment with different flavored oils and vinegars - there has never been a better time to do this. There are specialty shops all over now which sell them, but even your average grocery store is carrying some. We all know red wine vinegar and balsamic when it comes to making salads, but other vinegars are so outstanding - two of my favorites now are a peach vinegar and a red apple vinegar. Wow. They really make a salad zing. Try experimenting with different oils, too. I like a garlic flavored oil and a lemon flavored oil for salads.

To deseed the pomegranate, the secret is to do it underwater. Place the pomegranate in a bowl of water and when you scrape out the seeds under the water, the juice can't splatter all over. The inedible parts of the fruit float to the top and the seeds sink to the bottom. So easy.

Fill a medium bowl with water. Slice the top off the pomegranate with a sharp knife. Score four sides of the pomegranate and break it open with your thumbs into sections. Place the sections into the water and, under the water, pick or scrape out the seed with your fingers. The seeds will sink to the bottom and the inedible parts will float to the top of the water. When you are done with all of the sections, remove the parts that are floating and place the seeds in a small strainer and rinse, picking out any other small white inedible parts.

the seeds sink to the bottom and the inedible parts float to the top

Slice the granny smith apple into matchsticks.

Place the pine nuts in a little fry pan and toast them over medium heat for just a few minutes, until they turn slightly golden. Alternatively, you can place them on a foil lined baking pan and toast them in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 6-7 minutes, until they are slightly golden.

Crumble the gorgonzola cheese into small pieces.

Place your salad greens in a large bowl and toss with the seeds, pine nuts, cheese and apples, reserving a few of all the add-ins. Whisk the vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Drizzle a little of the dressing onto the greens and toss gently. Drizzle just enough dressing onto the salad to lightly coat the leaves - not too much. Add additional salt and pepper if you like and scatter the reserved toppings over the salad.

Article originally appeared on The Italian Dish (http://theitaliandishblog.com/).